England, beware! Aitana Bonmati showing Ballon d'Or tendencies again after viral meningitis scare as world champions Spain eye Euro 2025 glory

Yahoo

26-07-2025

After two dramatic penalty shootouts between Sweden and England and then France and Germany in the quarter-finals, it looked like another nail-biting conclusion to a knockout game at the 2025 European Championship was coming on Wednesday, with neither Spain nor Germany able to find a breakthrough that would book their spot in Sunday's final alongside England. Germany fluffed their chances on the counter and Spain just couldn't break down the determined defence in front of them - until Aitana Bonmati, fittingly as the winner of the last two Ballons d'Or, provided the moment of inspiration necessary to do so.
There were just seven minutes remaining of extra-time when Bonmati drifted onto the blind side of Rebecca Knaak, as the run of Athenea del Castillo grabbed her attention. Released by the Real Madrid winger, Bonmati turned and latched onto the ball, darting into the Germany box down the right. But as she looked up, a couple of yards from the byline, her options were limited. Cristina Martin-Prieto and Del Castillo were both making their way into the box, but they were going to be tough to pick out without a Germany defender getting in the way, while Salma Paralluelo was going to be even tougher to find at the back post.
That's when Bonmati spotted where Ann-Katrin Berger was placed in the Germany goal and remembered the preparations she and the Spain staff had done for this game. "We studied Berger and we realised sometimes she left the near post free," she noted after the match. "I didn't think twice. I didn't want it to go to penalties."
With the swing of her right leg, Bonmati caught Berger totally by surprise as she arrowed the ball beyond her to break the deadlock after 113 minutes, send Spain to the Euro 2025 final and, after her chances of playing at all in Switzerland had been thrown into serious doubt just last month, make her mark on a tournament that La Roja are now just one game away from winning for the first time.
Participation in doubt
It was only on June 28, two days before Spain were due to fly to Switzerland, when the shocking news broke that Bonmati had been admitted to hospital with viral meningitis. First and foremost, assurances from Spain head coach Montse Tome that the situation was under control were welcome, but when it came to playing at Euro 2025? It was surely going to be tough.
Not only did Bonmati need to recover and feel well again, she then had to get back up to speed. That was going to be a task in itself, with it unknown how the illness would impact her fitness, and it was also important for her not to be rushed back, too.
"She's so eager, we have to hold her back a bit," Tome remarked in the group stages, after Bonmati had joined up with the team in time for their second training session in Switzerland.
Slowly but surely
It was no surprise to see the midfielder's minutes managed through the early stages of Spain's tournament, as others took centre stage. Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina grabbed the headlines throughout the group stages, as Patri Guijarro quietly shone at the base of midfield and teenager Vicky Lopez took her opportunities to impress in Bonmati's place.
While those stars were focused on goals, assists and moments that would help Spain come through the first part of the tournament with three wins from three, Bonmati was taking smaller steps. She played nine minutes in the 5-0 win over Portugal, came off the bench at half-time in the 6-2 thumping of Belgium and got a full 90 when the group concluded with victory over Italy.
Making her mark
There were little glimpses that Bonmati was progressing nicely, though. She nearly scored with her first touch against Belgium after all, before she produced a lovely backheel to Putellas in the build-up to Spain's fifth goal of that game. In the quarter-finals, Spain didn't blow Switzerland away like many imagined they would, but Bonmati did catch the eye in a Player-of-the-Match display that she marked with another backheel assist. Then came the big moment on Wednesday, when she scored the goal that sealed La Roja's place in the final.
"It was not easy for her at the start of the tournament, but she has a special capacity to reach the highest level," Tome said after the match. "She has a special talent to make the kind of breakthrough you saw for the goal today. She worked hard to get healthy."
Another big year
It was a timely reminder of Bonmati's quality as the race for this year's Ballon d'Or heats up. Putellas came into Euro 2025 as the front-runner for that accolade, with Caldentey right on her heels after inspiring Arsenal to Champions League glory. But while Bonmati might not have been the stand-out star of Barcelona's treble-winning campaign, she is still right up there and in contention for what would be a third successive Golden Ball.
Bonmati racked up 19 goals and 15 assists last term, numbers which don't account for the remarkable off-ball work she does for club and country, too. Only four players won possession more often than her in last season's Champions League, which is particularly impressive given how Barcelona dominate the ball against any opponent, while only Guijarro won more duels than the diminutive midfielder in the Catalans' squad.
"Three or four years ago, I decided that if I wanted to be a complete player, I had to do those things also," Bonmati told GOAL previously. It's a big reason why, alongside the goals and assists, she is one of the best players in the world.
Born for big moments
What makes Bonmati truly elite, though, is that she has a knack for these big moments. When Spain reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2022, where they pushed eventual champions England harder than any other side, Bonmati was her team's best player. When La Roja avenged that loss by beating the Lionesses in the 2023 Women's World Cup final, it was Bonmati who picked up the Golden Ball accolade in the aftermath.
And while Spain wouldn't secure the Olympic gold medal many expected them to last summer, Bonmati would still claim a second successive Ballon d'Or after turning up on all the big stages in Barcelona's historic, quadruple-winning campaign.
Stage is set
Sunday is another big moment, the kind in which Bonmati loves to take centre stage. It comes almost exactly a month after she was hospitalised and her participation in this tournament, or at the very least her ability to make a mark on it, was thrown into serious doubt.
She's tuned up wonderfully over the last few weeks, slowly going up through the gears, almost like she has been timing it to peak for Sunday's final. With the Euro 2025 title, and potentially the Ballon d'Or, on the line, Bonmati looks primed to deliver another big performance. Watch out, England.